The Sudetenland Bow Shaped Ribbon

Once in a while a military medal will show up with a ribbon in the shape of a bow. This almost always indicates that the medal was awarded to a woman. Illustrated below is the German Sudetenland Occupation Medal with the Prague Bar. The bow shaped ribbon means that this medal was awarded to a woman. My guess would be that she was a nurse or member of some sort of support unit. What really makes this medal interesting is that it commemorates one of the most important events in the history of the 20th century. The Sudetenland was the German speaking part of western Czechoslovakia, a country with unnatural borders cobbled together after the First World War. The province had rugged terrain and was well fortified. It would have been a tough nut to crack for the German military had Hitler ordered an invasion. Unfortunately for Czechoslovakia, there was a conference in Munich from which the Czechs were excluded. At this conference England, France and Italy agreed to give the Sudetenland to Germany! Most of Europe breathed a sigh of relief thinking that war had been averted. Hitler was seen by the Germans and many others as an invincible genius. Privately however Hitler was resentful and felt that he had been deprived of a glorious military victory! From this point on nothing could stop Hitler from becoming the Pied Piper of Death.

About Fred Borgmann

Retired from KP after nearly 31 years as new issues editor and the Standard Catalogs.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor (December 20, 2016) Guide books suggest elitism exists in hobby
The letter I wrote a few weeks ago was not intended to be an insult to anyone but were merely examples of my experience with both coin and stamp collecting. It was meant to be a general discussion about the hobby abroad, not simply about one denomination out of ...